Defining the Body, Soul, and Spirit (#5 in a series)

Today's blog is going to define some terms that we need to agree on before proceeding further.

We will start simply with a definition of Heaven — and somewhat surprisingly, the dictionary  definitions of the afterlife's paradise quickly turn complex.

The Jewish Talmud, the Islamic Qur'an, and ancient Sumerian religions of Mesopotamia all refer to seven heavens. Hindu writings name seven upper worlds, which could be thought of as heavens, as well as seven underworlds.  This blog, however, follows a Christian tradition, and for that there is Paul's explicit reference to "the third heaven" when writing to the Church in Corinth.¹ From that, mainline Christianity uses a 3-heaven model which breaks down like this:

3rd. The abode of abode of God, the angels,
and the spirits of the righteous dead.

2nd. The interstellar heaven, outer space.

1st. The atmospheric heaven, Earth's sky.

We recognize that some angels have assignments on Earth, and other angels "did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode," as Jude put it in verse 6, but that is the gist of the three heavens found in the New Testament. 

When we talk about pets in heaven, we are speaking of the third heaven that is the current home to the Throne of God, the heaven where the spirits of Born-Again Believers go upon death of the body. 

The next thing we need to agree on is that if our pets do go to heaven, their qualifications are markedly different than a human being's requirements. Our pets were not created in the image of God, they did not have an ancestor who chose to break his communion with God through disobedience, and they do not need to accept the blood sacrifice of Jesus to be saved and restored. The Bible does not outline a "Plan of Salvation" which they must accept. However, their lives were affected by the fall of Man, and I believe this makes them eligible for "the restoration of all things, which God announced long ago through His holy prophets" which Luke wrote about in Acts 3:21.

In future posts, I will share my thoughts on what "terms and conditions" might apply as a result of man's fall, and whether or not the restoration would apply to a specific animal or to animals in general. Although the Bible never addresses these issues directly as they apply to our pets, it does establish some patterns from which we can draw inferences. But for now, we need to define some more terms—

Body
     The body is the physical structure of a person or animal. It is mortal. It is made from "the dust of the earth."  You may be familiar with Genesis 2:7 where we read that the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground. Animal bodies were formed in a similar manner, as we learned twelve verses later in Genesis 2:19; Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky.
 The body is not the man, for he himself can exist apart from his body, as we see in 2 Corinthians 12:2,3.¹
 If this blog ever uses the word body in another sense to refer to orbs in outer space i.e. heavenly bodies, to mean a grouping eg. a body of evidence, or as the somewhat mystic "body of Christ," that will be clear from the context.

Soul
     The soul of the New Testament is the Greek word ψυχή, psychē.  As such, it is the seat of the emotions. In modern usage, it often includes the intellect. Whereas the body can act as a container and contain life, the soul possesses life: the soul is not dissolved by death. The soul regulates the connection between the physical realm of the body and the spiritual realm of our spirit. Free will, our God-given authority to make choices, is integrated in the soul. Our souls give us our unique personhood, or personality.

Spirit
     The spirit of the New Testament is the Greek word πνεῦμα, pneuma.  It is the confusion about this word that is the reason I am taking time for a post that defines the terms. If you use a regular dictionary, you will find a long list of definitions that may include:
(a) the soul - it should be obvious that this definition will not fit the purpose of our blog.
(b) the power by which the human being feels, thinks, decides - that is the basic definition of the soul, so it will not fit the purpose here either.
(c) a state of mind - no.
(d) the inner character of a person - again, too much like the definition of soul
(e) a supernatural being or entity; used of demons, or evil spirits - no, this definition does not fit either.
(f) enthusiasm - no.
(g) the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, co-equal, co-eternal with the Father and the Son - too specific for our purpose
(h) incorporeal consciousness - okay, we are getting closer.
(i) vital principle held to give life to physical organisms - useful only if we limit ourselves to a scientific definition, but since reaching heaven is more faith, less science...
...see the problem?

So, for the purpose of this blog topic of Pets in Heaven, here is what I mean when I talk about spirit:
     Humans are triune beings with bodies, souls, and spirit. We are created in the likeness of God. It is our spirit that allows us to have spirit-to-spirit communion with God's Spirit. It is our spirit that, when reborn, makes it possible for us to be sons and daughters of God.
    Our Spirit is "saved" instantly and completely upon our acceptance of the blood sacrifice of Jesus. His sacrifice had to be a blood sacrifice, because when we were created, God put the life in the blood.
Our souls are not instantly "saved." For that, there is a growing-up process known as sanctification, a  progression of developing into holiness like our Father.
     The human spirit and the human soul are so intertwined that most of the time, the two terms could be used interchangeably. But there is one thing that can separate them: the Word.²

For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even as far as the division of soul and spirit. - Berean Literal Bible, Hebrews 4:12

The distinction is important for this topic so that we don't slip over into wonky theology. For example, this text from Romans 8:29,30 is one that can drive immature Bible students bonkers:
For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined He also called, those He called He also justified, those He justified He also glorified.

Let's skip the "the predestined get glorified" argument for now and concentrate on "He (God's Son) would be the firstborn among many brothers," for a bit. It would seem that after the resurrection, Jesus' status changed from "Only Begotten"³ to "Firstborn among many brothers." It becomes important to remember that we became brothers because Jesus became human, not because a sparkly wand made us divine. Although, we do have a likeness of God breathed into us. Pair that up with James 1:18, "He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation." 

So we are special. God leaves no doubt about that. But at the same time we are cautioned to not think of ourselves more highly than we ought, but rather think of ourselves with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of us. cf Romans 12:3


And the point is...
   We must stay mindful that we regard our pets at the proper level in which they were created, neither too high nor too low. Our earth-pets will not be "Cherub Kittens" or "Doggie Angels" in heaven, which is fine, because we are not trying to prove that Fluffy and Rover are anything more than a good pet. We are simply examining the evidence that love for a pet can transcend our present physical existence.




¹ 2 Corinthians 12:2  I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of it I do not know, but God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or out of it I do not know, but God knows—  We can reason that existence in the third heaven does not require a space/mass/time physical-dimension body.
²  The Word is Jesus, as we know from the first chapter of the Gospel of John.  Before Jesus got an earth-body when He was born of Mary, he was the Word. 
³ referenced in John 1:14, 18, and John 3:16,18